Charles Eugène de Croÿ

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19th-Century drawing of de Croÿ's mummy at St. Nicholas' Church, Tallinn.
19th-Century drawing of de Croÿ's mummy at St. Nicholas' Church, Tallinn.

Charles Eugène de Croÿ (Russian: Карл Евгений де Круа; 1651 – 30 January 1703) was a field marshal and duke from the House of Croÿ.

He participated in the 1676 Battle of Lund on the Dano-Norwegian side.

Later on he fought with success in the Austrian army against the Ottoman Turks and participated in both the liberation of Vienna in 1683 and the attack on Belgrade in 1690. He was promoted to Imperial Field Marshal for his services.

In 1697 he started serving the Russian Tsar Peter the Great and was Chief in Command for his forces in Livonia. He was in command of the Russian forces in the Battle of Narva on 20 November 1700 when he surrendered and was taken prisoner by the Swedes.

He died in Reval (Tallinn) as a prisoner of war in 1703. On demand of his creditors, his body, which rested at St. Nicholas' Church, was not buried for more than 190 years, and, when mummified, was exhibited as a curiosity.

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